There is much work to be done in Tallahassee. Critical imperatives have been pushed aside for too long, but we need to be honest and realistic. Much of what we need to do will require the Democrats to retake the governorship and the legislature, and that could take time. For now, I would like to see Democrats focus on these three priorities. All three should have bipartisan support and should not be particularly controversial. As I travel the state, these are three issues that jump to the forefront in nearly every conversation. They are:
- Property and auto insurance relief; fix the insurance crisis. Everywhere I go, people ask me: “Why is my property insurance through the roof (literally)?” “Why did my auto insurance go up 25% when I’ve had no claims and have good credit?” The people deserve answers and need relief. This should be Democrats’ top priority in Tallahassee!
- Encourage creation of more good jobs at good wages throughout Florida. Some parts of Florida (like my district) have become increasingly unaffordable over the most recent years. There are steps the state can take to encourage higher wage job creation — things like education reform and support of research and development. An added benefit of such moves is they would help improve housing affordability.
- End the state-sanctioned mistreatment of vulnerable minority groups. The bottom line is that we are all in this together. Many of the laws passed in the most recent legislative sessions — backed by my representative, supported by the Republican supermajority, and signed by the governor — were highly narrow in focus and targeted certain select groups of people for particularly poor treatment at the hands of, and with the approval of, the State. This must end. My philosophy is very simple: Live and let live. We all need to try — Try! — to get along with one another, the best we can. And as long as someone is not causing us direct personal harm, we need to mind our own business and leave them be.
